KENNESAW, Ga. – April 12, 2005 – Heidelberg USA President James P. Dunn told a gathering of the nation’s largest and most influential printers yesterday that the need to balance capacity utilization, productivity improvement, competition and return on investment (ROI) has become a business imperative.
Dunn delivered his remarks during a Heidelberg-sponsored breakfast in conjunction with the VUE/POINT conference being held April 11-13 at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla. He focused primarily on the printing industry’s ability to capitalize on a recovering economy amid intensifying competition and price pressures. In today’s market, equipment and technologies with the greatest potential ROI will be application-driven, Dunn said.
New equipment should fit the workflow in accordance with a broad view that places the press and its capabilities in the context of workflow and JDF connectivity, Dunn said. He further noted that Heidelberg’s support for JDF-based computer-integrated manufacturing initiatives can be seen within the framework of its Prinect workflow management system. Through the targeted use of Prinect’s integrated tools, Dunn said, a growing number of Heidelberg customers have addressed utilization, productivity and ROI concerns precisely and effectively.
The central prepress component of Prinect, Heidelberg’s JDF-based Printready prepress workflow solution offers:
•New features such as Printready Remote Access, supporting content management as well as closed-loop proofing and approval by registered users over the Internet.
•Integrated color management tools, including the Prinect Profile Toolbox. The toolbox contains both PrintOpen color-profiling tools, rated “most accurate” in a comparative study conducted recently by color experts at Western Michigan University; and the Quality Monitor, which handles process-monitoring tasks and checks the color quality of proofs and prints.
•Heidelberg’s CPC24 scanning spectrophotometer with closed-loop color control. Part of Heidelberg’s Image Control print measurement system for sheetfed presses, the CPC24 works online with the printing press. Instead of relying solely on narrow color bars, the scanning spectrophotometer scans the entire sheet, optimizing color quality and providing more precision and flexibility.
The introduction of the Suprasetter family of platesetters and the recent sale of its 1,000th Prosetter underscore Heidelberg’s commitment to thermal and violet computer-to-plate technologies.
VUE/POINT is an annual three-day conference for graphic communications professionals sponsored by the Graphic Arts Show Company. Open forum panel discussions exclusively feature working print professionals involved with software applications, prepress technology, traditional and digital printing, finishing and converting, sales and business management.